Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday accused the West of limiting freedom of speech and controlling media in what he said was "pure fascism."
MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2022) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday accused the West of limiting freedom of speech and controlling media in what he said was "pure fascism."
"With the conflict in Ukraine, we see how the West decided to shrink the space of freedom, how the West decided to 'cartelize' the media and news agenda, how the West decided to construct a history of war that justifies the unjustifiable in Ukrainian scenarios and possible escalation in world conflicts," Maduro said, calling the Western policy toward Russia "pure fascism."
According to Maduro, it is now difficult for him to get an objective view of what is happening in the world because of censorship on YouTube and Facebook (banned in Russia), where Russian media outlets such as Sputnik and RT, which broadcast in Spanish, have been blocked.
On March 2, the EU suspended the broadcasting of several Russian media outlets as part of the sanctions against Russia for its special operation in Ukraine. RT, Sputnik and their subsidiaries came under the ban. The TikTok and Instagram (banned in Russia) accounts of these Russian outlets have already ceased functioning in the EU. Meta (banned in Russia) indicated that it would generally limit access to them across the EU territory.
Earlier in the day, Google blocked mobile apps connected to Russia's RT broadcaster and Sputnik news agency from its PlayStore across Europe, as well as YouTube channels linked to the news outlets.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries and their allies have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow.
